Overview
This programme provides the opportunity to gain membership or Chartered Fellow status with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). CIPD membership allows you to connect with like-minded HR professionals through online communities and local branch events. Network with fellow senior members and debate solutions for today’s changing business needs.
By choosing this course, you’ll be able to develop your knowledge and skills in core areas of human resource management (HRM) to help you start or advance your career as a HR professional. The course can also enhance your expertise in professional activities related to employee resourcing, employee development, employment relations and employment law.
You will gain experience in practical problem-solving informed by up-to-date research. We encourage you to collaboratively learn with your fellow students which only solidifies your learning through group work and discussions but also helps build up your own professional network of future HR colleagues and allows you to become part of a community and learn new skills.
We’ve been teaching Human Resource Management courses for more than 20 years and have been recognised as an outstanding provider of CIPD-approved professional qualifications. Some of our academics are also part of the People, Organisations and Work Institute (POWI) research centre which focuses mainly on the sociology of work, employment relations and human resource management. There is a vibrant research culture supported by a strong cohort of doctoral students. Our academics deliver research recognised as international quality, critical and theoretically informed, and strive to push forward the boundaries of current thinking.
Key features
- Benefit from membership with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the UK’s leading professional body for all HR practitioners.
- Opportunity to undertake a live consultancy project to produce an individual management research report for the client organisation. This module will also encourage individual reflection on personal and professional development during the research process.
- Boost your employability with an academic qualification at a diploma or master’s level. If you choose to extend your studies with the MA course, you will complete a dissertation that extends the course to a duration of 24 months.
- Fit your studies around your work, family and other commitments with flexible study schedules on our part-time programme. The cross-sectoral nature of the part-time student group offers you the opportunity to compare practices across organisations to learn from the experiences of others.
- Applicants will typically hold an undergraduate degree with a minimum pass of 2:2 or equivalent overseas qualification.
- Professional qualifications deemed to be of equivalent standing will be considered on an individual basis.
- Work experience is not a requirement. However, applications from those without formal qualifications but with significant professional experience in the relevant field will be considered individually.
If English is not your first language, an IELTS score of 6.0 (including a minimum of 5.5 in each component) or equivalent is normally required.
English language tuition is available both before and during the course if required.
Course modules
- Leading, Managing and Developing People – Considers people in organisations and how we manage them. Topics include: Techniques for Change Management, Approaches to Effective Leadership, How to Generate Motivation at Work, Employee Engagement Strategies, The Formation of the Psychological Contract, The management of Organisational Culture and Professional Ethics.
- Human Resource Management in Context –enables you to identify, understand and analyse the major internal and external environmental contexts within which HR professionals operate in the private, public and voluntary sectors. It develop insights into the creation and delivery of effective HR strategies, practices and solutions in different national and global organisational contexts
- Investigating a Business Issue from an HR Perspective – provides an opportunity to undertake a live consultancy project in order to produce an individual management research report for the client organisation. This module will also encourage individual reflection on personal and professional development during the research process.
- Employee Resourcing – introduces you to the principal employee resourcing issues facing organisations in the 21st century, and aims to develop critical skills and competencies relevant to resourcing specialists. This module pays attention to the key factors of the external operating shape labour markets and impact employee behaviour and attitudes. It develops knowledge and understanding in managing resourcing practices, following the employee journey from recruitment through to exit.
- Research Methods and Dissertation (MA students only) – provides the academic framework and principal approaches to management research and design to equip you to carry out an independent piece of research, leading to the submission of a master’s dissertation. This module consists of two linked elements. The first is a guided programme of study to enable you to understand the key processes involved in identifying a topic for research. The second is designed to help develop awareness of ethical issues in the context of management research
Students can select two elective modules. The indicative list might include:
- Managing Organisational Change
- Employment Relations
- Human Resource Management in a Legal Context
- International Human Resource Management
Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.
Teaching and assessments
Teaching is delivered through formal lectures, informal seminars, tutorials, workshops, discussions and e-learning packages.
Teaching contact hours
This is a full-time course and in total you should be prepared to devote approximately 38 hours a week to your studies. You will typically have up to 14 hours contact hours of teaching most weeks for semester 1 and 2. Teaching is through a mix of lecturers, tutorials, seminars and lab sessions and the breakdown of these activities is shown in each module description.
In addition each module provides a 2 hour surgery each week available for individual consultation with the lecturer. You may also have some scheduled meetings with your programme leader, personal tutor, and/or careers throughout the year to discuss your academic progress and personal development.
Self-directed study: In order to prepare for, and assimilate, the work in lectures and seminars you will be expected to make regular use of our on-line resources, participate in classroom discussions including on our virtual learning environment (VLE) and engage in personal study, revision and reflection for approximately 24 hours per work during semester 1 and 2.
In semester 3, you will undertake independent research for your dissertation and again should typically allow around 38 hours per week for this. You will be allocated a dedicated academic supervisor to support you, who you will be able to contact on a regular basis.
Accreditations
Our Business School is a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Approved Centre.
You will acquire the underpinning knowledge to enable you to work towards full Chartered Membership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the UK’s leading professional body for all HR practitioners. Successful completion of the PG Dip leads automatically to Associate Membership of the CIPD.
